1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to product dispensers, and in particular to plastic squeeze bottles for dispensing food condiments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Product dispensers, such as plastic squeeze bottles, have been provided for dispensing products, such as food condiments. Such plastic squeeze bottles typically have a top and resilient sidewalls which together define a volume for containing the product until dispensed. A dispensing orifice typically extends through the top of the plastic squeeze bottle for passing the product from the bottle. External pressure is usually applied to the resilient sidewalls of the plastic squeeze bottle to urge the product to flow therefrom.
A problem arises in that products, such as food condiments, are subject to spoilage when exposed to ambient air. After a portion of the product is dispensed from a plastic squeeze bottle, releasing the pressure to allow the resilient sidewalls to return to their original shape will draw air into the plastic container. This exposes the product to ambient air and thus causes a reduced shelf life for the product once it is partially dispensed.
Another problem arises with this type of prior art dispenser in that very often food condiments are viscous, and thus tend to not flow very easily. When a small portion of the product is remaining within the dispenser bottle, very often the small portion is difficult to remove. The food product will stick to the interior wall of the plastic dispenser, and must be removed by either a violently shaking the dispenser, scraping the interior wall of the dispenser with a utensil, or mixing another fluid with the product to reduce the tackiness of the food product. Otherwise, the product remains within the dispenser and is wasted.
The above two problems often combine to increase the amount of food product wasted by dispensing from prior art product dispensers. Air exposure tends to remove moisture from products, often increasing the viscosity and causing the food product to become tackier and stick tighter to the interior walls. Thus, not only is waste increased by air exposure causing spoilage, but the product becomes more difficult to remove from the interior walls of the dispensing container.